Three's great company for string players

Marc Shulgold, Rocky Mountain News

Published September 19, 2006 at midnight

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Brazilian-born Sergio Assad and his brother Odair have traveled the globe as a renowned guitar duo. Sergio has also attracted attention as a daring composer.

Meanwhile, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg has enjoyed a career as one of the world's most sought-after violinists - popular with audiences and, at one time, a frequent visitor to late-night TV talk shows.

In advance of their Artist Series concert Thursday in Macky Auditorium, we had to ask Sergio Assad why he and Odair took a gamble and added such a flamboyant fiddler to the mix.

• A trio is born

"We were at Nonesuch (Records) in 1997 when Nadja joined the label. Our producer, Bob Horwitz, suggested a collaboration. We'd worked with other Nonesuch artists, such as (soprano) Dawn Upshaw, so the concept was not entirely fresh.

"We found Nadja to be a distinct personality. Right away, we accommodated to each other. She has a particular way of phrasing, so we all had to make adjustments to that. Our attitude is, if others have ideas that are good, we'll try them."

• Getting comfortable

"It took a while. She told us that, at first, she felt we didn't like her. It was not an instant thing in that regard. You know, at a first meeting, you don't know what to say. But we soon found out she was fun, and had a wonderful sense of humor."

• Learning the repertory

"The selections were made for our first CD together (Gypsy songs, Django Reinhardt tunes, etc.). We just sat down for the first time and did read-throughs. It went well - I could see there was potential. My brother and I are, of course, very familiar with the Latin American repetoire, most of which Nadja had never played before. But she caught on quite quickly. She's so intuitive. We actually did very few rehearsals before we made the record."

• Hitting the road

"The first year, there were lots of concerts. I think we were a curiosity for people. But the second year, we were happy to find that more (presenters) were inviting us. It just spontaneously happened. Now, we tour once a year, usually giving eight or so shows. We are truly a trio - Odair and I are not just providing accompaniment for Nadja."

• A budding composer in the house

"I am so proud of (daughter) Clarice. She started to compose when she was 7. The Three Sketches of hers were written about four years ago. It comes so easily for her, although she did struggle with the Concerto for Nadja (performed and recorded with the Colorado Symphony under Marin Alsop). But recently, Clarice wrote a piece for the Turtle Island String Quartet and us - and she finished it in five days!"

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